The funeral programme for the academic, culture advocate-scholar and human rights activist, Dr. Adewale Olufunilolayo Adeniran, is to commence on Wednesday, September 23 with a Christian Wake at the Ojaja Resort, Ile Ife, Osun State.
The wake will begin at exactly 5.00 p.m. and the dress code is “shade of green”.
The programme was announced on Tuesday in a statement by the family.
Adeniran passed on on July 25, 2026 at the age of 82.
The family further announced that the funeral would hold on Thursday, September 24 at the St. John’s Anglican Church, Ilare, Ile Ife.
The dress code for the occasion is “aso ebi” ankara with gold headtie/cap.
Entertainment of guests will follow the service at Ojaja Resort, Ile Ife, Osun State.
In the statement released, the family traces the remarkable life story of Adeniran, spotlighting his scholarly contribution to the field of humanities and to the cultural life of the nation.
It reads in part:
Born in Ile-Ife, Dr. Adeniran was a descendant of the Ogboruu Adejokun Royal Compound, Ilare, Ile-Ife.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Ibadan in 1969, a postgraduate diploma in 1971, and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the Sorbonne in 1973.
A bilingual scholar and human rights activist, he pioneered Sociolinguistics as a discipline at the University of Ibadan, where he lectured in the Department of Linguistics.
As Assistant Secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, he was among the lecturers dismissed during the 1978 “Ali Must Go” protests for standing with students.
He challenged the dismissal in court and was reinstated.
He later served as a bilingual translator to Professor Adebayo Adedeji at the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa.
He joined the Obafemi Awolowo University in the late 1990s, lecturing in the Department of Foreign Languages and serving as Acting Director of the Institute of Cultural Studies, where he championed a renaissance of Yoruba culture and heritage.
He was later appointed Executive Director of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, alongside Professor Wole Soyinka as Chairman, and in 2023 led a delegation with Professor Soyinka that secured President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s endorsement of the “Heritage Voyage of Return” initiative.
In December 2014, he was honoured with a national award by the Republic of Benin.
In public service, he represented Ife North Constituency in the 1989–1990 Constituent Assembly and later served as Honourable Commissioner for Education, Osun State. A committed patriot, he was Deputy Leader of Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide and played a role in securing the release of Yoruba rights activist Sunday Adeyemo (Sunday Igboho) in 2022.
About a year ago, he was invited to lead Apapo Egbe Omo Yoruba Oodua l’Agbaye, advancing Yoruba interests, restructuring, and a people-driven constitution.
His own father, Hon. Joseph Larewaju Adeniran (JP), was honoured posthumously by the Osun State Government in 2025 as one of the state’s founding heroes, an award Dr. Adeniran received on his behalf.
He is remembered for his seminal 1997 Nigerian Tribune article, “Ife-Modakeke Crisis: Some of the Untold Truths.”
He is survived by his wife, and children.
READ ALSO:
‘Phone-tapping’: Court to rule in El-Rufai’s no-case submission
Nigeria to renew UN Security Council push, reforms at UNGA81
Let’s distinguish between service and work (2)
WAFU U-17: Flamingos beat Burkina Faso 2-0
Oyebanji hands over 100 operation vehicles to security agencies
MUSWEN congratulates UI first female bursar, Mariam Zakariyah
UNILAG, DevReporting partner for documentary screening, foundation launch
